Media

MSNBC source disputes report that Gretchen Carlson will join network

by Joe Concha - 02/27/17 9:41 AM ET

A highly placed MSNBC source tells The Hill Monday that a Sunday report that Gretchen Carlson is in talks to join the network is “bogus.”

Carlson, 50, dominated headlines last July after the former “Fox & Friends” co-host sued Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes for sexual harassment in a New Jersey court.

The Sunday report from Business Insider’s Oliver Darcy stated that “two MSNBC sources” indicated Carlson was in talks with MSNBC.

“Carlson’s deal had not yet been finalized, but was nearing completion,” according to the report.

But an MSNBC source refuted the report while also praising Carlson, a 22-year broadcast veteran.

{mosads}”Gretchen is smart and talented, and we are respectful of that,” the MSNBC source told The Hill. “But this report is bogus.”

The source also said any meetings with the former “Fox & Friends” host and 1989 Miss America winner have been “declined.”

An internal investigation quickly led to Ailes’s departure two weeks after the suit was filed. Ailes, 76, still maintains his innocence.

21st Century Fox, the parent company of Fox News, settled with Carlson for $20 million and also apologized.

“We sincerely regret and apologize for the fact that Gretchen was not treated with the respect and dignity that she and all of our colleagues deserve,” 21st Century Fox said in part of a statement.

In January, former Fox primetime host Greta Van Susteren joined MSNBC to take over its 6:00 p.m. ET timeslot.